Statement by Ambassador Wang Yingfan, Permanent Representative of China to the UN, at the Consideration of the Question of the Malvinas Islands by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee of the UN General Assembly

2003/06/16

Mr. Chairman,

At the outset, I want to express my warm welcome to Mr. Rafael Bielsa, Foreign Minister of Argentina, to our meeting today.

Our Committee and UN General Assembly have followed closely the question of the Malvinas Islands and reviewed this question for consecutive years. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution as early as December 1965 to invite the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to conduct negotiations and seek a peaceful solution to the question of the Malvinas Islands, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter and the spirit of relevant G.A. resolutions. Afterwards, this special committee, on quite a few occasions, passed more resolutions requesting the two governments to strengthen dialogue and cooperation and resume negotiations so as to find at an early date a peaceful solution to their dispute over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands. This has reflected the common wishes of the UN member states.

The Chinese Delegation is of the view that is an important principle accepted in the international community today that a territorial dispute between countries should be resolved through peaceful negotiations, which also conforms to the spirit of the UN Charter. It is our hope that the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom, in the spirit of the relevant GA resolutions, will continue their constructive dialogue and work for an early peaceful and just solution for this question. The Chinese Delegation therefore supports this special committee to pass the draft resolution proposed by Bolivia, Chile, Cuba and Venezuela.